The UK's Premier Preppers and Survivalists Radio Show

Survival Page Three

This guide is for families preparing for imminent terrorist
or strategic nuclear attacks with expected severe destruction and widespread
radioactive fallout.

IF ONLY A ‘Dirty Bomb’ Attack was to happen and not the
vastly more devastating nuclear weapon blasts I will discuss in a minute.

You can expect localized and downwind contamination from the
explosion and dispersed radioactive materials. If you are near enough to see or
hear any local bomb blast, assume that it includes radiological or chemical
agents.

You should move away
from the blast area as quickly as possible.

If the wind is blowing toward you from the direction of the
blast, travel in a direction that keeps the wind to your left or right as you
move away from the blast area. If possible cover your face with a dust mask or
cloth to avoid inhaling potentially radioactive dust.

Upon reaching a safe location, remove your outer clothing
outside and shower as soon as possible. Refer to local news sources for
additional instructions about sheltering or evacuation. The government is
better prepared to direct and assist the public in a ‘dirty bomb’ incident,
unlike an actual nuclear weapon attack.

IN EVENT OF NUCLEAR
WEAPON ATTACK!

In a national crisis of imminent nuclear weapon attacks,
read all the way through this guide first.

(It will be on my website for all to see)

THEN TAKE EFFECTIVE PROTECTIVE ACTION WITH CONFIDENCE…
FAST!

Should you stay or
go?

You must decide FIRST if you need to prepare where you are,
or attempt evacuation. The nature of the threat, your prior preparations, and
your confidence in your sources of information should direct your decision.

If you are considering evacuation, your decision requires a
very high confidence that it is worth the risk. You do not want to get stuck
between your current location and you’re hoped for destination, as there will
probably be no easy getting back.

If you fail to get to your destination, you may be exposed
without shelter, in a dangerous situation with little effective law
enforcement, perhaps among panicked hordes of refugees.

Whatever supplies you
have may be limited then to what you can carry on foot.

IF you are in a big city or near a military target, AND you
have relatives or friends in the country that you know are awaiting you, AND
the roads between you and them are clear, AND the authorities are not yet
restricting traffic, AND you have the means and fuel, evacuation may be a
viable option for a limited time. DO NOT attempt evacuation if all of the above
is not clearly known, or if the situation is deteriorating too quickly to make
the complete trip.

You do not want to get stuck and/or become a refugee being
herded along with panicked masses. If evacuation is truly a viable option, do
not wait – GO NOW!

Do so with as many of the supplies as possible. Better to be
two days too early in arriving than two hours too late and getting snagged
mid-way, potentially exposing your family to a worse fate than having stayed
where you were. Because of the very real danger of getting caught in an
evacuation stampede that stalls, I think almost all families will be better off
making the best of it wherever they currently are.

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO
FIRST

Because time is of the essence, you need to first delegate
and assign to different adult family members specific tasks so they can all be
accomplished at the same time. Your first priorities to assure your family
survival are Shelter, Water, and Food/Supplies. While some are working on the
water storage and shelter at home, others need to be acquiring, as much as
possible, the food and supplies.

FOOD/SUPPLIES

Because much of the food and supplies required may quickly
become unavailable, quantities restricted, and/or the streets and stores may
become un-safe soon, you need to assign someone NOW to immediately go to the
stores with that list! Get cash from the bank and ATM’s first, but try and use
credit cards at the stores, if at all possible, to preserve your cash.

WATER

With one or more adults now heading to the stores with the
list, those remaining need to begin storing water IMMEDIATELY! Lack of clean
water will devastate your family much more quickly and more severely than any
lack of food.

Without water for both drinking and continued good sanitary
practices in food preparation and for bathroom excursions (which will
inevitably be much less sanitary than normal), debilitating sickness could
rampage through your household with little hope of prompt medical attention.

That is a highly
likely but an avoidable, disaster, ONLY IF you have enough water.

Every possible container needs to be filled with water RIGHT
NOW! It will be very hard to have stored too much water. When the
electricity/pumps go down or everybody in your community is doing the same
thing, thus dropping the water pressure, that’s it, what you’ve got is all you
might be getting for a very long time.

Empty pop bottles (1-3 litre) are ideal for water storage,
also filling up the bathtub and washing machine. (Remember, later you’ll have
some in your hot water tank.) If you have any kiddie pools or old water beds,
pull them out and fill them up, too. Anything and everything that’ll hold water
needs to be filled up quickly RIGHT NOW!!

One of the shopping items should be rubbish bins and liner
bags which you’ll also use for storing water. If you can’t get any more new
bins, you could clean out an existing rubbish bin and scrub it throughout with
bleach, then put in a new rubbish bag liner and fill it with water.

Choose well where you fill up your rubbish bins with water
because they won’t easily be moved once full and many of them together could be
too heavy for some upper floor locations. Ideally, they need to be very near
where your shelter will be constructed and can actually add to its shielding
properties, as you’ll see below. BE ASSURED, YOU CANNOT STORE AND HAVE TOO MUCH
WATER! Do not hesitate; fill up every possible container, RIGHT NOW!

SHELTER

The principles of radiation protection are simple – with
many options and resources families can use to prepare or improvise a very
effective shelter. You must throw off the self-defeating myths of nuclear
un-survivability that may needlessly seal the fate of less informed families.

Radioactive fallout is the particulate matter (dust)
produced by a nuclear explosion and carried high up into the air by the
mushroom cloud. It drifts on the wind and most of it settles back to earth
downwind of the explosion. The heaviest, most dangerous, and most noticeable
fallout, will ‘fall out’ first close to ground zero. It may begin arriving
minutes after an explosion.

While the smaller and lighter dust-like particles will
typically be arriving hours later, as they drift much farther downwind, often
for hundreds of miles. As it settles, whether you can see it or not, fallout
will accumulate and blow around everywhere just like dust or light snow does on
the ground and roofs. Wind and rain can concentrate the fallout into localized
‘hot spots’ of much more intense radiation with no visible indication of its
presence.

This radioactive fallout ‘dust’ is dangerous because it is
emitting penetrating radiation energy (similar to x-ray’s). This radiation (not
the fallout dust) can go right through walls, roofs and protective clothing.

Even if you manage not to inhale or ingest the dust, and
keep it off your skin, hair, and clothes, and even if none gets inside your
house, the radiation penetrating your home is still extremely dangerous, and
can injure or kill you inside.

Radioactive fallout from a nuclear explosion, though very
dangerous initially, loses its intensity quickly because it is giving off so
much energy. For example, fallout emitting gamma ray radiation at a rate of 500
R/hr (fatal with one hour of exposure) shortly after an explosion, weakens to
only 1/10th as strong 7 hours later. Three days later, it’s only 1/100th as
strong, or as deadly, as it was initially.

That is really very good news, because families can readily
survive it IF we get them into a proper shelter to safely wait it out as it
becomes less dangerous with every passing hour.

What stops radiation, and thus shields your family, is
simply putting mass between them and the radiation source. Like police body
armour stopping bullets, mass stops (absorbs) radiation. The thicker the mass,
the more radiation it stops. Also, the denser (heavier) the mass used, the more
effective it is with every inch more you add to your fallout shelter. The
thickness in inches needed to cut the radiation down to only 1/10th of its
initial intensity for different common materials is: Steel 3.3″, concrete
11″, earth 16″, water 24″, wood 38″, etc. The thickness
required to stop 99% of the radiation is: 5″ of steel, 16″ of solid
brick or hollow concrete blocks filled with mortar or sand, 2 feet of packed
earth or 3 feet if loose, 3 feet of water.

You may not have enough steel available, but anything you do
have will have mass and can be used to add to your shielding – it just takes
more thickness of lighter wood, for example, than heavier earth, to absorb and
stop the same amount of radiation. Increasing the distance between your family
and the radiation outside also reduces the radiation intensity.

The goals of your
family fallout shelter are:

To maximize the distance away from the fallout ‘dusting’
outside on the ground and roof

To place sufficient mass between your family and the fallout
to absorb the deadly radiation

To make the shelter tolerable to stay in while the radiation
subsides with every passing hour.

While a fallout shelter can be built anywhere, you should
see what your best options are at home or nearby. Some structures already
provide significant shielding or partial shielding that can be enhanced for
adequate protection.

If you do not have a basement available, you can still use
the following techniques in any above ground structure, but you’ll need to use
more mass to achieve the same level of shielding. You may consider using other
solid structures nearby, especially those with below ground spaces, such as
commercial buildings, schools, churches, below ground parking garages, large
and long culverts, tunnels, etc..

Some of these may require permissions and/or the acquiring
of additional materials to minimize any fallout drifting or blowing into them,
if open ended.

Buildings with a half-dozen or more floors, where there is
not a concern of blast damage, may provide good radiation protection in the
centre of the middle floors. This is because of both the distance and the shielding
the multiple floors provide from the fallout on the ground and roof.

Bottom Line: choose a structure nearby with both the
greatest mass and distance already in place between the outside, where the
fallout would settle, and the shelter inside.

If you have a basement in your home, or at a nearby
relatives’ or friends’ house that you can use, your best option is probably to
fortify and use it, unless you have ready access to a better/deeper structure
nearby.

For an expedient last-minute basement shelter, push a heavy
table that you can get under into the corner that has the soil highest on the
outside. The ground level outside ideally needs to be above the top of the
inside shelter. If no heavy table is available, you can take internal doors off
their hinges and lay them on supports to create your ‘table’.

Then pile any available mass on and around it such as books,
wood, cordwood, bricks, sandbags, heavy furniture, full file cabinets, full
water containers, your food stocks, and boxes and pillow cases full of anything
heavy, like earth. Everything you could pile up and around it has mass that
will help absorb and stop more radiation from penetrating inside – the heavier
the better. However, be sure to reinforce your table and supports so you do not
overload it and risk collapse.

Leave a small crawl-through entrance and more mass there
that can be easily pulled in after you to seal it up. Have at least two gaps or
4-6″ square air spaces, one high at one end and one low at the other.

Use more if crowded
and/or hotter climate.

A small piece of cardboard can help fan fresh air in if the
natural rising warmer air convection current needs an assist moving the air
along. This incoming air won’t need to be filtered if the basement has been
reasonably sealed up, however any windows or other openings will require some
solid mass coverage to assure they stay sealed and to provide additional
shielding protection for the basement.

With more time, materials, and carpentry or masonry skills,
you could even construct a more formal fallout shelter, such as the lean-to
shown to the right, but you should pile up much more mass than what little is
shown here.

An effective fallout shelter constructed in a basement may
reduce your radiation exposure 100-200 fold. Thus, if the initial radiation
intensity outside was 500 R/hr (fatal in one hour), the basement shelter
occupants might only experience 5 R/hr or even less, which is survivable, as
the radiation intensity will be decreasing with every passing hour.

Next time I will look
at further home shelters and suggested supply lists.

Britons Must Dig for Survival

Farming Minister David Heath has urged families to grow
their own to cope with food shortage crisis

The Government is promoting the famous WWII slogan ‘dig for
victory’

Our fruit prices up almost 11% since March 2012, vegetables
7% higher

And farmers warn Britain is running out of wheat after year
of bad weather

Families have been told they will have to grow more of their
own fruit and vegetables to cope with food shortages.

Mr Heath warned Britain could not rely on cheap imports to
meet its food needs.

Disruption to the food chain triggered by disease, conflict
or bad weather hitting harvests would drive prices even higher.

Britain is on the verge of running out of wheat after a year
of terrible wet weather, with more than 2million tonnes lost in last summer’s
deluge.

Farmers have also struggled to sow crops for the 2013
harvest, which is already predicted to be 25 per cent down on potential
production.

Households will have to consider becoming more
self-sufficient to limit the impact of high costs and bare shelves, Mr Heath
warned.

He said: ‘with an increasing population, increasing demand
not just in this country but across the

World, we are going to have to increase food production. We
made a huge mistake a few years ago when the idea got around that we didn’t
need to produce in the agricultural sector any more, that we would be able to
buy our way through whatever was necessary to feed the country.

Once we used to “dig for victory”. There may come a time
soon when we need to “dig for survival”.’

New inflation figures published today show how food prices
have impacted on the cost of living.

While the headline Consumer Prices Index figure remained
unchanged on 2.8 per cent, a detailed breakdown showed how food costs have
leapt in the last year.

Bread and cereals have risen by 3.6 per cent, meat 2.4 per
cent and items like sugar, jam and chocolate were 4.1 per cent year-on-year.

Mr Heath told the Daily Telegraph that that the idea of the
public ‘digging for survival’ was ‘not overstating it by a lot’.

He added: ‘We need to be able to produce enough to deal with
the requirements in this country. Food security is going to be an issue of
increasing relevance.

‘There is nothing that provides more classical insecurity
across the world than not being able to feed populations adequately so we need
to be aware of that and we need to respond to it.’

He suggested that the use of genetically modified crops
could be significant in securing food supplies in the future.

Well Mr Heath there you are wrong as nobody wants
scientifically designed and mucked about food. But we have and we will provide
for our families not because you say so, but because it is the right thing to
do.

Remaining
Daylight on Your Fingers

Is it time to stop and scrounge for shelter or is it better
to keep trekking? Use this simple trick to measure the remaining daylight.
Remember to allow yourself at least two hours to set up camp before the sun
goes down.

Count the finger widths between the sun and the horizon.
Each finger is equivalent to fifteen minutes, with each hand totalling an hour.

When the sun dips low enough that only two hands fit It’s time to search for a
suitable campsite and assemble a shelter:

(A caveat: if you’re near the poles,
the sun will hover over the horizon for a longer period of time, giving you an inaccurate
reading.

NBC Questions, Answers and Information

1) I would like to know how long is the duration of a NBC
Filter (Standard 40mm NATO Thread) before the filter begins to lose
effectiveness after being exposed to Nuclear, Biological and Chemical
contaminants?

Answer …Change every 48 hours minimum….24 is best

2) I would like to know if the Concentration of all
Industrial and Warfare compounds is low then would this increase the duration
of the NBC Filter?

Answer …Yes but industrial compounds like CHLORINE GAS and
AMMONIA or even Carbon

Monoxide are not filtered by ANY NBC type gas mask available
today. You would have to have a bottled air source pack to work in these environments
such as what the firemen used or even a scuba type setup. Biological and
Chemical agents are spread by mist dispersion, Tiny droplets…Not a gas at
all! That’s why the “GAS MASK” works

3) I would like to know how could I find out the right time
to change and replace the used NBC Filter with a new NBC Filter.

Answer… Right before you expect to see problems like a
chemical attack….When the SHTF you will have a little time….hear of stuff
happening….of course if they drop a bomb on you then you don’t have a
problem!

After the SHTF… a Chemical attack is usually short lived
and over a small area before weather and winds disseminate the chemical agent.
It would be fairly easy to go a mile INTO the prevailing winds to escape the
area safely if you needed to change filters

4) I would like to know the proper decontamination procedure
if the gas mask and NBC suit was exposed to Nuclear, Biological and Chemical contaminants.

Answer …The gas mask can be washed in warm soapy water
after removing the filter and valves and air dried….The suit has to be
replaced as laundering may remove the agents but will also remove the charcoal
liner material that protects you as well.

During the cold war I did a few studies and after a lot of
figuring I came up with the idea to wear a rain suit over our NBC suits …Rain
suits were disposable and cheap if you got an agent on them…..then we could
just air out the NBC suits. This is not a good alternative if the weather is
very warm and you won’t be moving out of the contaminated area for hours! You
will get heatstroke!

Note…Most Biological contaminants only last a few hours
exposed to air at the most. Anthrax is one of the “WILD” biological
agents and you could just leave the area…it will die out over a few days. BTW
ANTHRAX is found in many forms in the wild on a lot of tree’s and can cause
minor rashes to people that work in the lumber industry regularly (Lumberjacks
/ Tree workers)

Best advice is to
LEARN….

NBC LINKS

http://www.nbc-links.com/

Great Info!

https://www.cia.gov/library/reports/…ok/cbrbook.htm

Now the LEARNING
LINKS!

http://www.enlisted.info/field-manua…handbook.shtml

The NATO HANDBOOK
online

http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/do…/fm8-9/toc.htm

http://www.gordon.army.mil/SAMC/Down…ctionFM3-4.pdf

Survival and Stress

We’ve all commented at one point or another about having a
stressful day. But most of us don’t have a clue as to how debilitating stress
can be especially in survival situations.

To reduce its impact and to increase the chance of survival
in the wilderness, it’s important to not only understand stress but to also
overcome it. The environment, your physical and mental condition, and the
availability of materials all affect the amount of stress you will have to
manage.

Environment Stress

There are three environmental factors that will directly
impact you in a survival situation. They are the climate (temperature,
moisture, and wind), terrain (mountainous, desert, jungle, arctic), and life
forms (plants and animals).

At first glance these obstacles may seem insurmountable and
history has provided plenty of examples of people perishing as a result of
unfavourable environmental conditions.

Still, there are other stories of survivors that
successfully adapted to the given conditions or travelled to another location
that was better equipped to meet their needs so we know it can be done.

Understanding how the environment might affect you is the
first and necessary step to overcoming the unpredictable hardships of nature.

Physical and Psychological Stress

Both the physical and psychological stresses of survival
will directly affect your outlook of your situation. If you’re not careful, you
may lose all hope virtually guaranteeing your death. These stresses may also
end up dictating the order in which you meet your needs which is not the ideal
way to prioritize.

Instead, it is important to make decisions based on logic
and not emotion.

Physical stresses are brought about by the physical
hardships of survival. Overcoming them requires proper preparation. The six Ps
provide a good rule for all wilderness travellers: prior proper preparation prevents
poor performance.

So what does preparing mean? It involves the following:
ensuring that your immunizations are up-to-date, staying well hydrated both
before and during any outback adventure, and being physically fit prior to
traveling into the wilderness.

The amount of time a survivor goes without rescue will have
a significant impact upon his will or drive to survive. As time passes, the
survivor’s hopes of being found ultimately begin to diminish.

With decreased hope comes increased psychological stress.
This sort of stress is much more insidious than other forms and you need to be
on the lookout for it.

The basic stresses that will affect you, the survivor,
psychologically are as follows: pain, hunger and thirst, heat or cold, fatigue,
loneliness, and fear.

Overcoming Survival
Stress

The most important key to surviving is the survivor’s will.
The will or drive to survive is not something that can be bought.

However, your
will is directly affected by the amount of stress associated with a survival situation.

Prior preparation, keeping a clear head and thinking
logically, prioritizing your needs, and improvising all will help alleviate
some of this stress.

P: Proceed With Your Plan – Be flexible and make adjustments
as necessary.

Methods of Fire Lighting

Primitive igniters are those attributed to our early
ancestors.

Flint and Steel

The direct spark method is the easiest of the primitive
methods to use. The flint and steel method is the most reliable of the direct
spark methods. Strike a flint or other hard, sharp-edged rock edge with a piece
of carbon steel (stainless steel will not produce a good spark).

This method requires a loose-jointed wrist and practice. When
a spark has caught in the tinder, blow on it. The spark will spread and burst
into flames.

Fire-Plough

The fire-plough is a friction method of ignition. You rub a
hardwood shaft against a softer wood base. To use this method, cut a straight
groove in the base and plough the blunt tip of the shaft up and down the
groove. The ploughing action of the shaft pushes out small particles of wood
fibres. Then, as you apply more pressure on each stroke, the friction ignites
the wood particles.

Bow and Drill

The technique of starting a fire with a bow and drill is
simple, but you must exert much effort and be persistent to produce a fire.

You
need the following items to use this method:

Socket.The
socket is an easily grasped stone or piece of hardwood or bone with a slight
depression in one side. Use it to hold the drill in place and to apply downward
pressure.

Drill. The drill
should be a straight, seasoned hardwood stick about 2 centimetres in diameter
and 25 centimetres long. The top end is round and the low end blunt (to produce
more friction).

Fire board. Its
size is up to you. A seasoned softwood board about 2.5 centimetres thick and 10
centimetres wide is preferable. Cut a depression about 2 centimetres from the
edge on one side of the board. On the underside, make a V-shaped cut from the
edge of the board to the depression.

Bow. The bow is a
resilient, green stick about 2.5 centimetres in diameter and a string. The type
of wood is not important. The bowstring can be any type of cordage. You tie the
bowstring from one end of the bow to the other, without any slack.

To use the bow and drill, first prepare the fire lay. Then
place a bundle of tinder under the V-shaped cut in the fire board. Place one
foot on the fire board. Loop the bowstring over the drill and place the drill
in the pre-cut depression on the fire board.

Place the socket, held in one hand, on the top of the drill
to hold it in position. Press down on the drill and saw the bow back and forth
to twirl the drill. Once you have established a smooth motion, apply more
downward pressure and work the bow faster. This action will grind hot black
powder into the tinder, causing a spark to catch. Blow on the tinder until it
ignites.

Look here is the truth, if you cannot build a fire plough or
a bow drill or if you cannot get a fire going in your back garden how will you
manage in the wilderness?

I say use these method for fun, enjoy using them, but when
SHTF, when you need a fire straight away, use a lighter, a magnesium
Ferrocerium rod, or a fire piston, but use something that works first time
because that is all the time you might have.

Your life may depend on your ability to light a fire in the
rain or in the wind or both so practice in your back garden until it works
every time.

Surviving SHTF

Nuclear warfare is not necessary to cause a breakdown of our
society. You take a large city like London, Birmingham, Manchester or Leeds—
their water supply comes from hundreds of miles away and any interruption of
that, or food, or power for any period of time you’re going to have riots in
the streets.

Our society is so fragile, so dependent on the interworking
of things to provide us with the goods and services that you don’t need nuclear
warfare to fragment us anymore than the Romans needed it to cause their
eventual downfall.

While some may consider such a discussion a waste of time,
more and more people are coming to the conclusion that preparations of some
sort are warranted in our current troubled environment — on many fronts.

Surviving Economic Collapse is about how much preparation
individuals are willing to do and is usually in direct correlation to their
belief that something catastrophic could happen, making life as we know it a
much more difficult task.

It is a proven fact throughout history that when disruptions
of any kind occur, those who made even the smallest preparations typically fare
much better than those who gave no thought at all in this regard.

I want to share with you a list I have compiled of the
things that could potentially happen — and that threaten our way of life in a
small or large degree.

There is no way to predict these things, but anyone with
common sense can see that the possibility is likely we could experience one or
more of these events at some point in the future…

Any single event or combination of events could cause
terrible and debilitating circumstances for a short or long period of time:

There is the every present possibility of wars, nuclear
wars, nuclear reactor meltdowns, and radiation fallout.

Then we have the coming financial meltdown (derivative, debt
crisis, economic collapse and/or bond implosion) causing currencies to implode
and governments to topple

There are problems with the exploration, delivery, or
production of oil, the lifeblood of modern economies

We are seeing a spread of disease such as the Black Plague
or a bird flu pandemic more and more often

We have frequent
Power cuts

And you could even say that political anarchy or revolution
is a possibility too.

Racial strife or civil war is on the cards that is for sure

Electromagnetic pulse events are in the news even more now.

With any of these scenarios listed above (and there is a
host of others I have probably not even thought about), you could have
localized, national, or global unrest and even war for an indefinite period of
time depending on the scope and duration of the event(s).

An item that is not on the list — but could be equally
devastating to individual families — is the loss of a job.

Losing a job can be a catastrophic event if one is not
properly prepared. Most families find themselves living paycheck to paycheck
with little in the way of savings and almost nothing in the way of
preparations.

For years, I had brought up the issue of preparedness to a
close friend of mine.

When I first started talking about it, my friend and his
wife basically blew me off… but I kept bringing the topic up.

Eventually they thought it prudent to at least get some sort
of food storage together. Their family was accustomed to an upper middle class
income and living comfortably in suburbia with their three children…

About a year after making their food preparations, the
breadwinner of the family lost his job and ended up working a series of almost
minimum wage jobs trying to make ends meet.

He kept applying for better-paying jobs in his field of
expertise — but no matter how qualified he was nobody was interested in hiring
someone at his previous salary level or his age (late fifties).

The family’s lifestyle was devastated and they eventually
lost their home…

In a recent conversation with this friend, he told me that
without their food storage, things would have been immeasurably more difficult.
He thanked me for being a good friend and pushing the issue when he and his
wife weren’t listening.

The family is now living a greatly reduced lifestyle, but
keeping their heads above water and continuing with their preparations.

I share this story because on an individual basis, there is
a host of things that can happen in which being prepared could make a huge
difference.

We often, as a people in general, terms take things for
granted and think ‘this’ or ‘that’ will never happen to us. In addition to a
major job loss due to a myriad of reasons, you could lose your health or the
ability to do your job.

Unfortunately, things of this nature are happening to more
and more people every day. In fact, I’m certain all of us have been affected to
some degree by similar stories of friends and relatives.

Our Current State of
Affairs

The world in general seems afflicted on so many different
fronts.

When you look at the list above, any rational person could
easily see one or more of these scenarios occur within their lifetime.

Aside from the geophysical things that seem to be going
haywire, and could be explained simply as the planet’s cycles, there are plenty
of man-made catastrophes that loom on the horizon…

Never has the planet had as many people as it does now. With
increased population numbers, there is increased pressure for resources.

More countries seek nuclear devices than ever before and
recent advancements in technology make this much easier than any time before in
history.

Biological and chemical weapons are also much easier to
manufacture — and are being stored by an increasing number of very scary
countries.

Oil markets are tighter than ever as demand from countries
like China and India increases, but new supply cannot keep up with the
increasing demand.

The financial debacle of the world economies needs no
introduction to my listeners. In short, bad times — really bad times — for any
number of reasons could and probably will be coming to a location near you.

Unless you and your family take this possibility quite
seriously, if and when something does happen, you could very well find yourself
in some extremely difficult circumstances…

Just look at the latest news coming out of Greece, as
reported by Reuters.

This is happening
right now — and it’s only going to spread.

When the political and economic systems of entire nations
collapse the consequences are devastating.

Earlier this year pharmacies and hospitals in Greece were
unable to provide lifesaving medicines due to a shortages caused by a freeze in
the flow of credit from manufacturers to distributors to patients.

A collapse in the country’s economy has forced many Greeks
to turn to black market barter economies and has left millions financially devastated,
with no hope of finding an income stream for the foreseeable future.

The credit system of the entire country is in shambles. So
much so that reports are emerging about food shortages and hunger within the
Greek prison system, suggesting that serious problems in the food delivery
chain have begun to materialize.

As Nigel Farage warned recently, we are beginning to see the
rise of extreme political parties as a consequence of the total and utter
desperation of the populace.

Today the news gets even worse. Greece’s Regulatory
Authority for Energy (RAE) announced an emergency meeting to deal with what can
only be construed as a tell-tale sign that this crisis is very rapidly reaching
critical mass and may spiral out of control in the very near future:

Greece’s power regulator RAE told Reuters on Friday it was
calling an emergency meeting next week to avert a collapse of the debt-stricken
country’s electricity and natural gas system.

You may have thought the financial collapse of 2008 was bad.

That was just a warm-up.

The main event is staring us in the face, and the whole of
Europe has front-row seats.

What is happening in Europe is just a precursor for what
will eventually be happening to the United States..

The following are Items to Consider that I feel are prudent
as you make your own preparations based on the problems that could potentially
threaten our way of life.

Each of the items below could fill a book… but my intent
is to at least get you thinking about the most important things related to being
prepared.

Should I stay or
should I go?

Many have already decided where they will go if and when any
such disaster occurs. I hope they get there but…

Personally, I know many who have already left the United
Kingdom — and they have never looked back. I have been invited to their
retreats in Spain, Australian, New Zealand, and the Greek Islands, and they
seem very happy with their decision to leave.

This is a huge decision. My hope is that the following

discussion may be of some help when thinking about this topic.

Because I have travelled internationally so much in my
previous life I often compare notes on my trips with other folks (Drivers,
tourists etc.) about their travels…

One of the realizations you see first-hand as you travel
extensively worldwide is the extreme wealth, extreme poverty, and extreme
corruption that exists in all of its world flavours.

If you think the United Kingdom is corrupt, you should try
going to Peru, or Bolivia, or Panama. And if you think those countries are
corrupt, you haven’t see anything compared to Russia, Haiti, India, or some
places in Africa…

The fact is corruption and the growing global police state
is EVERYWHERE!

So while we certainly see much to complain about in the
United Kingdom, which is definitely going the wrong way fast, from what I have
seen in most other places on the planet, the U.K. is still less corrupt than
most.

There are bad apples everywhere throughout politics, local
police, special agents, and most certainly the court system — but for every bad
apple, there are probably three times as many honourable people who are truly
just trying to do their jobs.

Leaving the country is a decision you must make before the
event takes place due to the sheer amount of time and effort it takes to
accomplish such a task.

You must also think about being away from family and friends
who don’t share your enthusiasm to leave the country and what affect that could
have on everyone over time.

For most, I think it’s probably best to just hunker down in
your own country and prepare as much as you can. If you can afford a retreat
cabin somewhere far away from the big cities, that would probably be best — but
again, you still need to get there once the event occurs.

Studies have clearly shown that once a SHTF event occurs, you
have two to three days to get to where you ultimately want to hunker down.
After that, travel becomes extremely dangerous and it is unlikely you will
reach your final destination.

Highways will become kill zones targeted by the bad guys. To
a gang of armed looters who forgot to prepare or plan ahead before the event,
there is not a better target than an RV loaded down with stored food, ammo, and
gold.

Don’t be foolish and attempt travel once things have gone
south: If you need to get somewhere, plan to leave the moment the event happens
and arrive where you want to be within 72 hours.

This may require several false starts (meaning the situation
looked bad at first, but didn’t materialize, and you need to return home) on
your part as events start to unfold. But it’s better to be safe than sorry if
you are planning to get somewhere when an event happens.

Military strategists know from historical accounts of what
happens when governments fail or when SHTF events affect a country: The rule of
thumb is that roads are to be avoided at all costs.

If you cannot afford a retreat cabin of some sort, there are
things you can do to hunker down in your own home…

First, you need to stock up and find a way to defend it.

Like-minded friends and neighbours can be a huge support network — as long as
they have prepared as well.

There is a great book (it’s not well-edited, but has solid
content) on how to live in your home and defend it called

Holding Your Ground:
Preparing for Defense if it All Falls Apart by Joe Nobody, which in itself is a
lesson in laying low.

This book isn’t about turning your home into a concrete
bunker armed to the teeth; it’s more about using cosmetic deception to fool
would-be marauders into thinking your place has already been hit. It includes
plenty of clever techniques that go far beyond “shooting back.”

Ultimately, everyone must decide for themselves based on
finances, family concerns, and individual preferences what he can or cannot do
in his preparations.

Hopefully, this discussion will help you make the best
choices for what is in your best interest.

Hope for the best,
but prepare for the worst.

This is a good motto to live by, despite how you think about
things.

Individuals can still hope for the best (that things can and
will eventually work out), but what good is your prosperity going to do if you
don’t have anything to eat or a safe place to hang out for an extended period
of time?

Why not prepare while you still can — when things are
readily available and can still be purchased at cheap prices? The coming
hyper-inflation will make any such purchases beforehand look very
intelligent…

To prepare for the worst, you need a plan. Why are most
people so against doing basic preparations that could be the difference on how
they survive — or whether they survive?

History shows time and again that those who prepare always
fare better than those who did not. Having a plan and being determined to act
on that plan will always be the best way to handle any contingencies, should
they occur.

After disaster strikes, your mind is going to be racing
around like a car on a race track. Pre-planning and having a written set of
measures to take will make someone’s life go much smoother when the SHTF.

Your own personal plan is ONLY what best fits what you are
going to do during and after a disaster.

People should also have back-up plans — Plans B and C, at
least — because nothing ever seems to go as planned.

Haphazard approaches to
the aftermaths of catastrophes are kind of like a chicken running around
without its head.

Cold Water Survival

What is it? It is
difficult even for an expert to define.
It is estimated to be around and under the temperature of 70
degrees.

However, this will vary in each
case due to the specific circumstances and physical condition of the person
involved.

What Happens In Cold
Water?

Many of the fatal boating accidents occur in the
“out-of-season” months when the water is cold. What happens to the body when suddenly
plunged into cold water?

The first hazards to contend with are panic and shock. The initial shock can place severe strain on
the body, producing instant cardiac arrest.

Survivors of cold water accidents have reported the breath
driven from them on first impact with the water. Should your face be in the water during that
first involuntary gasp for breath, it may well be water rather than air.

Total disorientation may occur after cold
water immersion. Persons have reported
“thrashing helplessly in the water” for thirty seconds or more until
they were able to get their bearings.

Immersion in cold water can quickly numb the extremities to
the point of uselessness. Cold hands
cannot fasten the straps of a lifejacket, grasp a thrown rescue line, or hold
onto an over-turned boat.

We all recall the incident in
which the airliner went down in the dead of winter in the water in Washington,
D.C. several years ago. The vivid video
of the rescue attempts and those that died due to hypothermia is not easily
forgotten.

Normal body temperature of course, is 98.6. Shivering and the sensation of cold can begin
when the body temperature lowers to approximately 96.5. Amnesia can begin to set in at approximately
94, unconsciousness at 86 and death at approximately 79 degrees.

What To Do In The
Water

Cold water robs the body’s heat 32 times faster than cold
air. If you should fall into the water,
all efforts should be given to getting out of the water by the fastest means
possible.

Persons boating in the cold water months should be
thoroughly skilled in rescue and self-rescue techniques. Most accidents involve small boats which with
practice can be righted and re-entered.

Most boats, even filled with water, will support the weight
of its occupants. If the boat has
capsized and cannot be made upright, climb on top of it.

Physical exercise such as swimming causes the body to lose
heat at a much faster rate than remaining still in the water.

Blood is pumped to the extremities and
quickly cooled. Few people can swim a
mile in fifty degree water. Should you
find yourself in cold water and are not able to get out, you will be faced with
a critical choice – to adopt a defensive posture in the water to conserve heat
and wait for rescue, or attempt to swim to safety.

Should you find yourself in the water, avoid panic. Air trapped in clothing can provide buoyancy
as long as you remain still in the water.
Swimming or treading water will greatly increase heat loss and can
shorten survival time by more than 50%.

The major body heat loss areas are the head, neck, armpits,
chest and groin. If you are not alone,
huddle together or in a group facing each other to maintain body heat.

Preparation

Proper preparation is essential when boating on cold
water. Make sure your boat and equipment
are in first class condition.

Check the weather forecast before leaving for your event. Always tell someone where you are going and
when you expect to return.

Dress in several layers of light clothing. Next to a diver’s wet suit, wool clothing
offers the best protection. Always wear
a personal flotation device (PFD) when boating.

First Aid
Considerations For Cold Water Victims

Treatment for hypothermia depends on the condition of the
person. Mild hypothermia victims who
show only symptoms of shivering and are capable of rational conversation may
only require removal of wet clothes and replacement with dry clothes or
blankets.

In more severe cases where the victim is semi-conscious,
immediate steps must be taken to begin the rewarming process.

Get the person out of the water and into a warm
environment. Remove the clothing only if
it can be done with a minimum of movement of the victim’s body. Do not massage the extremities.

Lay the semi-conscious person face up, with the head
slightly lowered, unless vomiting occurs.
The head down position allows more blood to flow to the brain.

If advanced rescue equipment is available it can be
administered by those trained in its use.
Warm humidified oxygen should be administered by face mask.

Immediately attempt to rewarm the victim’s body core.

If available, place the person in a bath of hot
water at a temperature of 105 to 110 degrees.

It is important that the victim’s arms and legs be kept out
of the water to prevent “after-drop”.
After-drop occurs when the cold blood from the limbs is forced back into
the body resulting in further lowering of the core temperature.

After-drop can be fatal.

If a tub is not available, apply hot, wet towels or blankets
to the victim’s head, neck, chest, groin, and abdomen. Do not warm the arms or legs.

If nothing else is available, a rescuer may use their own
body heat to warm a hypothermia victim.

Never give alcohol to a hypothermia victim.

Some Important Facts To Remember

Most persons recovered in cold water “near”
drowning cases show the typical symptoms of death:

Cyanotic (blue) skin coloration

No detectable breathing

No apparent pulse or heartbeat

Pupils fully dilated (opened)

These symptoms, it was discovered, did not always mean the
victim was dead. They were, on the other
hand, the body’s way of increasing its chances of survival through what
scientists call the mammalian diving reflex.

This reflex is most evident in marine mammals such as
whales, seals or porpoises. In the
diving reflex, blood is diverted away from the arms and legs to circulate (at
the rate of only 6-8 beats per minute, in some cases) between the heart, brain
and lungs.

Marine mammals have developed this ability to the point
where they can remain under water for extended periods of time (over 30 minutes
in some species) without brain or body damage.

Humans experience the diving reflex, but it is not as
pronounced as in other mammals. The
factors which enhance the diving reflex in humans are:

Water temperature – less than 70 degrees or colder, the more
profound the response and perhaps the more protective to the brain

Age – the younger the victim, the more active the reflex

Facial immersion – the pathways necessary for stimulating
this series of responses seem to emanate from facial cold water stimulation.

The diving reflex is a protective mechanism for humans in
cold water immersions, but it may confuse the rescuer into thinking the victim
is dead. Resuscitative efforts for these
victims should be started immediately utilizing CPR in accordance with your
training.

Remember, numerous children have been brought up from
freezing water after 30 minutes and been successfully resuscitated.

Survival Trapping

Trapping or snaring is a simple process. Your goal is to
hold, contain, or kill the intended target species.

Without real traps or
snares, you have to use your head. The better your understanding of wildlife,
the better trapper you will be.

I have a friend who just started trapping and she told me
she used to think you just put traps anywhere in the woods and the animals
would be caught!

This is a very important statement if you are a beginner. To
understand trapping, you have to understand what estate agents say all the time
– “Location, location, location.”

To become an expert trapper, you must study every piece of
written material on the target animals. I am not just talking about trapping
books and videos, but wildlife studies.

Have you seen the movie with Alec Baldwin and Anthony
Hopkins called “The Edge”? I think that is what it was called,
anyway.

This is the movie where they are stranded up in Alaska. They
make that little cage trap out of sticks and twine to catch the squirrel. Then
they catch a squirrel. The funny part was the squirrel the movie shows getting
caught in the trap doesn’t even live in Alaska!

I have seen animals in traps, and I laughed my head off when
I saw that part! A trapped squirrel would have jumped and pushed at the cage.

That cage, having no weight on it would have fallen open, and the squirrel
would have escaped. Don’t rely on Hollywood to teach you any survival skills!

Pine Sap and Birch Bark Trap. I will now discuss some
different emergency trapping techniques. One of my favourites is a century old
way of trapping birds. For centuries, the Indians knew that trapping fed them
better than hunting, and they developed this trap.

You use a smooth, easy-to-form type of bark, like Birch or
any pliable, soft, inner bark.

Form a cone like an ice cream cone, and tie strips of inner
bark around the cone to keep it together. Score a pine tree by cutting off a 4
x 4 inch square in the bark, until you can see the inner bark. The sticky sap
will flow out.

Take a stick and get a good glob of sap, then smear it onto
the inside of your cone. Using whatever the birds – like grouse or pheasants –
are feeding on (berries, corn, etc…), make a small trail leading into the cone,
and fill the inner cone with the bait.

The bird will eat the bait and follow the trail right into
the cone! Once they stick their head in, the pinesap will stick to their
feathers.

The bird is now blind. But, just like a bird in a cage that you place
a cover over, these trapped birds will lay down, thinking it is night time, and
go to sleep.

It is very important to make sure no light can be seen
inside the cone.

Approach the trapped bird slowly and quietly. Once you grab
the bird, hold on tight, because it is going to freak out! Quickly grab it and
wring it’s neck.

Stovepipe Bird Trap.

The stovepipe game bird trap is so simple, it makes me laugh every time I think
about it. The principle behind it is that birds can’t back up. Have you ever
seen a bird walk backwards? Neither have I!

A friend told me about it when I was in school. There was a
farm inside the village limits loaded with pheasants! He used to train his dogs there. The
pheasants were just too tempting for me, so I had to try it.

So, I made a trap,
baited it with corn, and the next day, sure enough, there were fresh pheasant
tracks going right into the pipe!

Man! This is great, I thought! I lifted the pipe, expecting
the weight of a bird, only to be disappointed upon finding it empty.

Mice must
have stolen the bait, I thought. After two more days of tracks going into the
pipe and no pheasants, I figured it out. I was using an 8-inch pipe, and the
birds could turn around.

I went back to the junkyard, found some 6-inch pipe,
and the next day, the pheasant was waiting!

Of course, I had to try it on the grouse, and found that a
4-inch pipe works for them. My guess for quail would be the 2- or 3-inch pipe.
Just don’t do what a friend of mind did.

He made one out of a real short pipe, about 10 inches long,
and the big rooster pheasants tail was sticking out the end! He was in some
park, and as he was walking out to his car, the police saw the pheasant tail,
and he got busted.

Some people have no sense of humour! The bad thing was, now
the cops knew what the trap was, so the rest of us had to quit for a while.

Materials needed:

6-inch diameter, 24-inch long stove pipe

A piece of chicken wire, about 12-inches square and some
duct tape

That’s it. You take the chicken wire, form it around one end
of the pipe, and duct tape the overlay nice and tight around the pipe. Place a
trail of corn going into the pipe, and a pile or cob in the back.

This has to
be the easiest trap to make, and man does it work! Be careful when you pull the
pheasants out. They are a feisty bird, and you had better have a good hold on
them. Otherwise, they will fly off.

A friend of mine did this in the garage, lost the bird, got
the dog, and he said that after 15 minutes of him trying to knock the bird down
so the dog could grab it, the garage was a wreck!

The dog ripped the bird up,
and his wife was a little mad.

A Pit Trap. This is a neat trap. A friend who enjoys
(poaching) told this me about this one, on catching pheasants.

You take a coke bottle, or a small shovel, and dig a hole 6
inches in diameter, 10- to 12 inches deep. Make a trail of corn leading to the
hole, and cover the bottom with corn.

The pheasant, or grouse, will come up and reach down to get
the corn. Then, they fall into the hole. Their wings are stuck at their sides,
and their feet are hanging up in the air! You just pull them up by the feet,
and wring the neck.

Fish Trapping.

One of the oldest methods of catching fish is used in small
rivers and streams. You find a shallow spot next to a deep hole. At night, the
fish come out to feed, and will swim in the shallows.

To take advantage of this, you can narrow down the opening into
a “V”. Behind the “V” is a solid wall of rocks. The fish
will swim in and get caught or confused, and lay in the trap until daylight.

When you go to check the trap, approach quietly from the front. Place a large
rock, or rocks, blocking the hole in the “V”. This is to keep any
from escaping.

Netting is the best way to catch the fish in the containment
area. If you don’t have a net, make a spear. Clubbing fish is a waste of time
in the water.

All that happens is you get very wet, and the fish could get so
scared they will jump over the back wall to escape. Yes, I found that one out
first-hand.

If you are serious about trapping, get real equipment, and
real snares. Real traps and snares will always catch more than these homemade
traps.

Trapping is a skill that takes practice. You have to learn
to walk into the woods and recognize what type of animal lives there.

Then you need to learn where they travel for food, water,
and shelter and set your traps and snares accordingly.

Surviving in the Woods

Ever been on a hike admiring the wild flowers, gazing up at
the tips of the trees–and suddenly found yourself completely alone and lost?

No of course you have not, but what if?
what would happen to you if you couldn’t find your way back to safety?
While being lost in the woods can be a frightening experience, surviving alone
in the wild is generally a matter of common sense, patience, and wisely using
the gifts that nature provides.

To survive in the woods, you must use these
guidelines and tips.

Plan ahead. Don’t just trek off into the wilderness; do some
research first. There are a lot of resources regarding survival, both online
and in libraries, but warning: many of the techniques used in these manuals are
sometimes wrong or incomplete.

One of the most accurate books about this
subject is “Bushcraft – Outdoor Skills and Wilderness Survival” by
Mors Kochanski. Educate yourself about the flora and fauna of the area you are
exploring.

Knowledge of the local plants and animals can save your life!
If you need any medication or injections, bring them along – even if you don’t
plan to be gone for long enough to need them.

Every time you go into the wilderness, make sure someone
knows where you are going and how long you intend to be gone. That way someone
will realize that you are missing, quickly alert rescuers, and be able to tell
them where to start looking for you (much like a “flight plan,” which pilots
always file before leaving).

Similarly, don’t forget to call the person(s) you notified
to tell them when you are back. Like the boy who cried wolf, a false alarm
wastes rescue resources and may be.

Bring survival gear. Basic survival tools such as a knife, a
fire steel (metal match), some matches (in a waterproof canister), some cord (550
paracord is best), a Whistle, a space blanket, a signaling mirror, water
purifying tablets, a compass, etc. this
can mean the difference between life and death.

However if you decide to bring something like a knife make
sure you have permission and don’t give people the wrong impression. Even if
you are only out on a day hike, be sure to bring the essentials.

Having all this equipment is nothing if you cannot use it
properly. Make sure to practice many times in a safe environment before
venturing into the wilderness, somewhere like your back garden Also, know how to catch and cook fish if the
need arises.

Forget about catching game; this is a painstakingly slow,
energy-consuming process that will divert your attention from your real goal,
trying to get home.

Learn how to use a compass. If you have a map and can spot a
few prominent landscapes, you can actually use the compass to triangulate your
position and, from there, figure out where you need to go.

A space blanket can be used to block wind and water, wrapped around the
body prevent and counteract hypothermia, or even placed behind you to reflect a
fire’s heat onto your back, but none of this is useful if the blanket is too
small or tears the moment you unwrap it.

Bring a means of communication. A mobile phone with spare
battery or a portable CB radio can be your best, quickest means of rescue if
you are truly lost or injured.

A mobile signal may only be obtainable from a
hill or tree (be safe if contemplating a climb) but is better than nothing.

Serious survivalists may even consider investing in a
personal locator beacon such as the SPOT Messenger for extended, precarious, or
very remote, treks.

A SPOT Messenger is a satellite communication devices that
allows you to contact emergency services, reach your own personal contacts for
help during non-emergencies, or even simply check in with your friends and
family as you trek so that they know you’re alright. A service subscription is
required and is not cheap.

Don’t panic if you’re lost. Panic is more dangerous than
almost anything else, because it interferes with the operation of your single
best, most useful and versatile survival tool: your mind.

The moment you realize that you are lost, before you do
anything else, stop. Take a deep breath and stay calm. Even if you’re hanging
from a rope halfway down a mountainside with a broken leg, remind yourself that
people have survived exactly this situation.

Stand still and look around carefully! Wherever you are will
become your “point zero.” Find a way to mark it using a spare piece
of clothing, a pile of rocks, a sheet of paper, or anything else easily visible
from a distance.

Stay in one place. This not only increases your chances of
being found, but also reduces the energy your body expends and the amount of
water and food you will need. Hunker down and stay put.

Chances are that
someone will be looking for you, especially if you let someone know your plans

Build a good-sized fire with sufficient coals to stay hot
for many hours, and make sure that you have plenty of extra dry wood.

Start the
fire before you think you need it, even if the weather is warm; fires are
easier to make under stressless conditions than in a panic as the sun sets – to
say nothing of the fact that having a fire nearby will give you a sense of
comfort and safety as you get your bearings.

A good rule of thumb is to gather wood until you think you
have enough to last the night, then gather three more piles of the same size,
after which you might have enough to get through the night.

In the wilderness, you should have access to dry wood in the
understory of the forest. You can also use bark or dried dung.

If you build a
fire that is hot enough, you can also burn green wood, brush, or tree boughs to
make a signalling fire (one that makes a lot of smoke).

The best wood for maintaining a fire is dead wood that you
pull off a standing tree. Regardless of what type of woods you are in, there
will certainly be some dry wood available.

Remember that a small fire is easier
to keep burning than a big fire, though, because it requires less fuel. Once
you have sufficient embers, keep the fire to a manageable size so you don’t
spend too much time looking for fuel.

Don’t build a fire in an area where it is unsafe to do so.
Your fire should be well away from flammable trees and brush, preferably in a
clearing. Be careful with your fire. While you want to feed it, you shouldn’t
overdo it.

Consider the weather and other factors and remember, a forest fire
is a lot harder to survive than just being lost!

Signal your location to maximize the odds that someone finds
you. Make noise by whistling, shouting, singing, or banging rocks together. If
you can, mark your location in such a way that it’s visible from the air.

If you’re in a
mountain meadow, make three piles of dark leaves or branches in a triangle. In
sandy areas, make a large triangle in the sand. In a forest, you might want to
prepare three small fires ready to ignite at a moment’s notice, with heaps of
wet leaves nearby in order to make smoke.

Three of anything in the wilderness
is a standard distress signal. The space blanket can also be used as a signalling
device.

Start scouting your area, carefully keeping track of your
location. In your immediate area, make sure you look around carefully for
anything useful. You could find things someone left there before, be it a tin
can or small lighter, it can be helpful significantly.

Be sure you can always
find your way back to your “point zero” as you search for water,
shelter, or your way home.

Find a good source of water. In a survival situation, you
can last up to three days without water, but by the end of the second day
you’re not going to be in very good shape; find water before then.

The best source of water is a spring, but the chances of
finding one are slim.

A running stream is your next best bet; the movement of the
water reduces sediment. Be advised that drinking water from streams can lead to
some sicknesses, but when you’re in a life-or-death situation, the risk of
illness is a secondary consideration and anything you may get can be treated
when you return.

Purify your water. A crude method of water purification is
to take your handy pot and heat the water. For this to effectively kill
bacteria, it must be at a rolling boil for at least a minute.

You can also put
(clear) water in a clear plastic bottle and set it in the sun for six hours to
kill most of the organisms.

However, if the water is so full of sediment that the sun
can’t penetrate it, this method will not work. If you have any, add a pinch of
salt to the water to try to bring the sediment to the bottom.

Find or create shelter. Without adequate shelter, you will
be fully exposed to the elements and will risk hypothermia or heatstroke,
depending on the weather.

If you are not properly dressed for the conditions,
finding shelter is all the more important. Luckily, the woods are filled with
tools and resources to make both shelters and fires (for warmth, safety, and
signalling purposes).

Here are some things you can use:

Look for a fallen or leaning tree. You can build an A-frame
shelter by by stacking branches along both side a fallen tree, then over the
branches with brush, palm fronds, leaves, or other plants.

Use brush or green branches (boughs) from trees to repel
water, block wind, keep out snow, or create shade.